1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of portable terminals, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for charge control of a portable terminal having a solar battery which is capable of charging a battery using solar energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a method using solar energy is divided into a method using solar heat and a method using photons. The method using solar heat heats water using solar energy to perform heating or power generation. The method using photons converts the photons into electricity to operate various machines and tools. Since the method using solar energy uses unlimited pollution-free solar energy, it has an advantage that electricity can be obtained wherever there is sunshine. Further, the method has an advantage in that atmospheric contamination, noise, heat generation, and vibration does not occur.
With the development of mobile communication technology, portable terminals have become a necessity in today's society as they provide various functions, such as MP3 function, mobile broadcasting receiving function, moving image reproduction function, and camera function in addition to the primary purpose of providing a calling function. According to provisions of the various functions, a time that a user using the portable terminal for other purposes (e.g., listening to music, games and the like) has been rapidly increased.
Accordingly, as the use of portable terminals and they associated functions, increases there is a need for a battery with increased capacity. However, there is a limitation in the increase in a capacity of a battery due to characteristics (e.g., size limitation) of the portable terminal. In recent years, a portable terminal capable of charging the battery using solar energy has been developed. Thus, in the presence of sunlight or solar energy, such a portable terminal can always charge a battery by using solar energy.
However, the battery used for portable terminals has a problem in that the battery can be damaged or the performance of it can be lowered if a charge is continued in a high temperature state. However, a typical portable terminal does not provide a function of stopping the charge of the battery through solar energy in a high temperature state. That is, since the battery charge through solar energy is continued in a high temperature state, the typical portable terminal has a risk that the battery can be damaged.